Cadillac's new car pre-release poster sparks controversy: Coconut tree style mocked by netizens

Recently, Cadillac's official account used a series of coconut-tree-style posters with humorous texts to promote its new car "IQ". However, this marketing method has caused widespread controversy and criticism. In today's increasingly fierce marketing competition, Cadillac's attempt does not seem to have achieved the expected results. So, what kind of behavior is considered smart? How should we view Cadillac being ridiculed this time?

"Wow, that's stupid and low," said one of my friends.

Here's what happened: On March 31, everyone saw on the Xiaohongshu APP that Cadillac's official account was warming up for its new car "IQ Proud". It posted several coconut tree-style posters and joked: "Sorry, after 120 years of marketing, I suddenly don't know how to do it anymore."

It mentioned, "I'm sorry, Thor, we helped you build a pretty good SUV under 500,000 yuan", I'm sorry, Auge loves to study too much; unlike Porsche or Tesla, we just want to be ourselves beautifully.

It is reported that "IQ Aoge" is expected to be officially released and delivered at the Beijing Auto Show. This is also the second electric SUV based on the Ultran platform after IQ Ruige. Therefore, Cadillac wants to use the popularity of Xiaomi to increase its exposure.

However, netizens do not buy it.

Some said, "How low-level! How can you really attract negative attention by using fake websites to gain traffic?" Others said, "Officially announcing the withdrawal from the Chinese market will bring more traffic." Some even bluntly pointed out that it was all their own fault that they ended up in this situation. Just look at how bad their marketing has been in recent years.

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However, the official enjoyed the behavior. In a Weibo reply, he said: Just kidding, I didn't expect that this huge amount of traffic would come to me. See you at the Beijing Auto Show in April.

Well, it is indeed very naughty. In the high-end market, has the car marketing competition started to play this trick? Is it really good? Although it has attracted some users' attention, it does not seem to be very smart.

01

Let us think about a question: What behavior is not considered smart?

From a theoretical point of view, you would say: This person is sloppy in his work, lacks careful thinking, has superficial judgment, low emotional intelligence, and not much wisdom.

Every Valentine's Day, you will see a similar famous scene on the short video platform: a boy holding flowers, standing in the middle of the heart-shaped decoration in the square, loudly confessing to the girl he likes: "I like you, can we be together?"

But the girl was completely caught off guard by the sudden confession.

Faced with a bunch of strangers around her taking out their mobile phones to take pictures, she felt that she was trapped in a situation where she would be socially doomed. If she accepted, she would have a sense of surrendering under the moral coercion of everyone. If she refused, she would feel sorry for the boy's thoughts and it would be very uncomfortable.

This is not smart. You have mastered many methods and understood the so-called principles, but you didn't apply them at the right time, and you made yourself the object of ridicule.

So, what is considered smart behavior? I have told you a real business case:

In April 1985, Coca-Cola and Pepsi were competing, and in order to gain market share, he decided to change the century-old formula. So, after doing some research and testing, he launched it into the market with full confidence.

But when New Coke started to be sold, users were no longer willing to buy it. They believed that the original formula not only tasted good, but also carried emotional and cultural values.

what to do?

Thanks to the brand's quick response, it brought back the original formula and called it "Coca-Cola Classic", which helped it win the hearts of consumers again.

Everyone has eyes and sees the same thing; everyone has a heart and can analyze things clearly. The difference lies in grasping the key points, doing things in the right way, and making everyone think you are doing a good job. That is what is smart.

The decision to change the formula of Coca-Cola at the beginning was not a wise one because it did not take into account people's love for the original taste and their emotional reliance on the brand. Suddenly, the change in thinking turned a bad hand into a good one.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, the Confucian scholar Zhu Xi said in his work "Zhu Zi Yu Lei": If one has the Tao but not the skills, one can still seek the skills; if one has the skills but not the Tao, one will only be limited to the skills.

If one has correct ideological guidance but lacks execution skills, the skills can be learned; if one only has skills but no correct ideological guidance, he will only remain at the skill level.

If a brand has the correct values ​​and positioning, and temporarily lacks marketing skills, it can learn and supplement them. If a brand only focuses on methods and ignores its core positioning and image, its development will only be limited to the surface.

02

To be honest, people are not opposed to the word-style posters of the Coco Tree brand.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Central University of Finance and Economics used similar styles in their recruitment promotions before, with good results. Luckin Coffee also collaborated with it, which was also quite successful.

As for taking advantage of Xiaomi's automotive marketing, Cadillac is not the first.
On the night of Xiaomi's auto launch, BinYue also launched a set of posters: "It's not that Xiaomi can't afford it, but BinYue is more cost-effective"; Geely Galaxy also used the slogan "8 is bigger than 7", which means the car is bigger, the system is more powerful, and the discount is greater.

So why is Cadillac being ridiculed this time? One of the key reasons is the double contrast of image and vision.

Let's make a distinction here between what is image and what is vision. Image can be a young man or a middle-aged man, and it refers more to the overall impression; vision refers to the elements seen by the eyes, such as color, design style, etc.

The history of Cadillac can be traced back to 1902. It was originally named to pay tribute to Antoine de Moses Cadillac, a member of the French royal family. In the history of American automobile development, it once represented the top level, but later gradually became a second-rate luxury car brand.

As a long-established American luxury car brand, it has always given people a sense of maturity, stability, and sportiness. The promotional materials are also high-end, atmospheric, and classy.

This time the attempt is different. The word style and random combination of large characters are equivalent to conflicting with the previous positioning of the luxury car brand. Therefore, this contrast will definitely cause a shock and make people feel a little uncomfortable.

Secondly, I think the practice of "pulling down others" is unpleasant.

What does "pull down" mean? On the surface, they pretend to admire you and want to learn from you, but in fact, they are making innuendos and sarcastic remarks about you. They don't say you are bad directly, but they are secretly making you unhappy.

Take a few sentences on the poster as an example: "We never thought that parasols and awnings could be sold for extra money", "The batteries and critical power systems are covered by a lifetime warranty", "We don't have that cool edgeless glass, so we can only use double-layer soundproof glass."

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OK, OK, OK, you can go first. Cadillac is a little smart, knowing that Xiaomi cars have traffic passwords, but it is not smart enough; it is normal to simply praise and dislike, but it is not a smart way to praise and belittle at the same time.

If you search, why did this kind of marketing by taking advantage of others rarely happen before, or was there any behavior of comparing other people's functions? Because it is easy to be labeled as "malicious competition".

Did you know?

In May 2022, Geely Automobile published an article on its official WeChat public account titled "The King of "Melee" Battles, Everyone Who Has Tried It Says It's Good."

Using charts, videos and media comments to compare its own cars with Japan's "Honda and Toyota" hybrid car series, the company was found by the Industrial and Commercial Bureau to have violated industry competition regulations and was fined 10,000 yuan.

Cadillac did not directly compare its products with other brands like Geely did this time, but its indirect cleverness made people feel uncomfortable, which also highlighted the pattern among its competitors.

Besides, from a purely marketing perspective, Lei Jun is the person who knows best about collaboration and promoting others, and he will do all the promotion himself.

On the eve of the 2023 technology launch conference, in order to build momentum, light shows were used in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen to advertise for partners.

A few days ago, after Xiaomi launched its car, someone left a message on actor Zhang Songwen's Weibo asking Lei Jun if he had also given Zhang Songwen a car. Lei Jun immediately forwarded the message and replied, saying he would give him a car. So, once there is a hot topic, he will definitely be the first to jump on it.

Look at it from another angle. If Cadillac puts up a few posters saying "I'm better than you", how can others praise you? How can they @ you? How can they collaborate with you in the future?

03

You may say: If others don’t play with me, I’ll play by myself. Negative information is also a kind of exposure. After all, if people know about it, there is a chance to turn the attention into actual results.

I admit that in the short term, following the trend and using various marketing methods to attract attention can help Cadillac attract some people's attention. In the long run, it is not good for brand loyalty, because real competition is much more complicated than it appears.

Why do you say that?

From the perspective of buyer psychology, Cadillac "IQ" is a mid-size pure electric SUV, and its future competitors will be Tesla Model Y and Xiaopeng G9.

What do you value most when buying an SUV? Features, practicality, and the brand. If the advertisement contains more entertainment content, will it make people feel that the marketing of the car is a bit frivolous?
You don’t even know what the features of this car are?

If you don’t believe it, think about it from the perspective of the poster, how much is this car worth?

In the past, Cadillac's brand image has always faced challenges. On the one hand, the brand has been heavily discounted, making it look less luxurious than a luxury car. The value retention rate of used cars has also been declining, making buyers hesitant.

On the other hand, the image is not clear enough. In the early years, it was jokingly called the "King of Bathing", and the title still appears from time to time. This has a lot to do with the brand history.

Therefore, we should now take advantage of the opportunity of luxury trams to reshape our image and perception.

From the perspective of market competition, Xiaomi Motors adopts a high-level misaligned competition. Its appearance is comparable to Porsche, and its performance is comparable to Tesla Model 3. This is done to avoid being directly involved in the "new energy vehicle war".

Domestic new energy vehicle parts and resources are almost the same, so why did Xiaomi rush to announce five major technologies, including electric technology, battery technology, smart driving and smart cockpit, before making cars? The main reason is to gain a firm foothold in the competition and differentiate itself from other competitors.

If the users are not given an anchoring bias at the beginning, it will be easy for them to be compared with the Zeekr 007 and Galaxy E8 models.

Isn’t it a bit chilling?

In most people's minds, the core of business is that enterprises must meet consumer needs. This idea is based on the most basic market economics theory. If we look at people's consumption habits and ways of thinking, things are not that simple.

For example:

You have 600 yuan in your pocket and plan to go out for dinner and a movie with your friends tonight. You have to decide which restaurant to eat at, which movie to watch, and which theater to choose.

The options that pop up in your mind have all been influenced by the "anchor points" set by certain brands in advance. Whoever occupies a place in your mind first will gain the upper hand in business competition.

The electric car market also needs to think carefully about how to make a difference in technology, innovation and marketing strategy. Blindly following the trend of Xiaomi SU7 and excessively pursuing marketing gimmicks can easily overlook the essence.
Therefore, the Cadillac poster implicitly criticizes Xiaomi, saying it is a "false prosperity" and has little significance. Not only does it prevent users from establishing correct cognition, it also causes anchoring to deviate.

04

So, how can a high-end game start at the peak, be brilliant and yet still luxurious?

I told you a story:

At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the social atmosphere changed. Young people were inward-looking. Archery competitions were not just about accuracy, but also about who could shoot through the center of the bull's eye. Confucius taught his students: Everyone is equal, shooting is not about the skin, and strength is different. This is the ancient way.

A classmate didn't understand, so he asked Confucius, "Teacher: Isn't shooting through the target also considered a good shot?"

Confucius explained:

When shooting arrows, accuracy and technique are very important, and strength is only a small part of it. You cannot use the strength of others to judge whether your shooting is successful. Core stability is more critical than strength.

I repeat these seemingly useless nonsense just to tell you that instead of thinking about breaking out of the circle, it is better to look inward and think about where your foundation lies and how your core advantages and competitive strategies can last.

It is better to be a luxury car brand. Defense is stronger than offense in terms of combat form.

The question is how to establish it?

Sun Wu wrote a book called "The Art of War", which later became one of the required courses at the United States Military Academy at West Point. The book mentioned an important concept called "temple calculation" , which is called "war chess simulation" in modern terms.

It is to mark each territory on the map and simulate the confrontation between several armies.

In the automotive competition, I define the similar "temple calculation" step as a mental map, analyzing the brand's position in the minds of consumers to see what they are concerned about and what other brands occupy. Determining the competitor's market share is like finding the opponent's commanding heights.

As long as you position yourself correctly, target the market segment, and continuously weaken your position, you will be able to capture the niche.

Why is it that in the domestic new energy market, strong brands rarely gain an advantage in the "temple calculation" link, and are often at a disadvantage compared to their competitors? The reason is that the war game simulation is not good enough, there is a lack of strategic planning, and there is a lack of specific tactics of the strategy, which is the core part that Xiaomi Auto cannot see.

In addition, you must have heard the saying: Instead of waiting for others to hold an umbrella for you, it is better to hold an umbrella for yourself. My idea is just the opposite, "You can hold an umbrella for others."

German luxury car brands, I believe everyone knows the name "BBA". On the 100th anniversary of BMW, Mercedes-Benz sent a congratulatory message, which means:

Thanks to the competition for a hundred years, the thirty years without BMW were a bit boring. Next week, the Mercedes-Benz Museum invites BMW partners to visit for free. You can drive here, walk around, and get a special Mercedes-Benz snack: sour dumplings.
There was another one in 2019, when Mercedes-Benz boss Dieter Zetsche retired, BMW specially shot a short video to express its respect.

The video is about Dieter Zetsche leaving the Mercedes-Benz office and returning home to start his retirement life. The most shocking scene is that he actually drove away in a BMW, which implies that even though he was once the head of Mercedes-Benz, he still has a special liking for BMW cars after retirement.

Look inward, be defensive, find a niche, and "hold an umbrella for others." This will make others feel irresistible. In a high-end game, there is no need to fleece each other.

Conclusion

Mutual praise in business is an art.

Brands should be like water, showing the deepest power and tranquil wisdom. To conquer the audience, you can be more sincere and less "eye-catching" routines.

Author: Wang Zhiyuan

Source: WeChat public account: Wang Zhiyuan (ID: Z201440)